Originally published in The Sylva Herald on July 16, 2020.  Western Carolina University’s 2020-21 Housing Agreement has left students angered and concerned for the upcoming school year. “Residents acknowledge that, in the event of such temporary closures, restrictions, and/or adjustments to the housing services schedule, WCU shall not have the […]

North Carolina, despite logging record numbers of new cases over the past two weeks, including a new single-day record of almost 2,500 on July 11, still maintains the “safer-at-home” phase 2 of reopening. One of the defining provisions of this phase is the 50% capacity allowance for dining-in at restaurants. […]

Editor’s note: JB is in favor of removing the statue but has attempted to present this article relatively free of bias. In the wake of the George Floyd protests, the 2017 call to remove the local confederate statue “Sylva Sam” from the steps of the old courthouse is reawakened and […]

Originally published in The Sylva Herald on July 2, 2020.  Western Carolina University’s Board of Trustees on Monday unanimously approved changing the name from “Hoey” to “University” on a campus performance facility. Hoey Auditorium was named after Democratic politician Clyde R. Hoey. Hoey, served in both houses of the state […]

Originally published in The Sylva Herald on June 25, 2020.  BaShaun Smith has served as Western Carolina University’s interim associate vice chancellor and dean of students since June 2019 but permanently accepted the position as of May 1. “I decided to stay at WCU because of the amazing students we […]

Originally published in The Sylva Herald on June 11, 2020.  Work has begun on a facelift of the Ramsey Center at Western Carolina University. “Addressing the water leak issues in the existing curtainwall is the primary goal of the Ramsey Activity Center Curtainwall Replacement project,” according to the website of […]

Originally published in The Sylva Herald on June 11, 2020.  After much anticipation, Western Carolina University has officially announced changes to the fall semester calendar due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WCU will hold its first day of classes on Monday, Aug. 17, as previously scheduled, but has decided to eliminate […]

Originally published in The Sylva Herald on May 28, 2020.  As a kid, Mark Zoran built model cars from his favorite movies and TV shows with his father, Daniel. Now he recreates them in full scale in his Whittier shop. Zoran and his wife, Angela, founders of Razorfly Studios, replicate […]

Originally published in The Sylva Herald on May 21, 2020.  A data collection company is keeping an eye on how the United States is following social distancing guidelines and handing down grades. Jackson County received a “C,” according to data from Unacast. “Our goal in developing this and our COVID-19 […]

Originally published in The Sylva Herald on April 16, 2020. On Wednesday, April 8, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors announced Dr. Jennifer Schiff as one of 17 faculty members to receive the 2020 Award for Excellence in Teaching. The recipients represent all 16 of North Carolina’s public […]